I decided I would try and do some testing with teespring. I’m testing out some of the wearable products and a tote bag. I did order one of shirts and found it was fine after washing. When I first got it I was concerned about the white ink that was not part of the design that was on the shirt. Once I washed it, it was fine.
Here is link to check out the products I’m testing. You do need to mark up from from what they have for starting price. I think personally their prices are a bit high.
I decided to take an animation course for an elective while working on my MFA. Best thing I could do and boy did it make more work hard! Animators work so hard. Here are 3 animations I posted on my Youtube Channel. I also have video tutorials for Adobe Software we used in class. Met some really nice fellow students in my class. They were so encouraging and provided some great tips! Stay tuned I interviewed some of them for my podcast. See below for the videos and please like and subscribe to my channel.
I worked on a cut paper illustration of a dragon reading to some kids and thought I would turn it into a coloring sheet for kids that are stuck at home and want something fun to color. I would like to make some other fun PDF activities in the future. Stay tuned!
Here is the link FUN STUFF. Click Download file to get your PDF to download.
In this episode Heather Tietz, a previous guest and I are talking about starting our publishing company Applesauce Books. This has been something we worked on in our spare time. We should have hardcopies by the time this interview drops. We go over some things we’ve learned in the process. It’s really about trying something new and see where it can take us.
Links to social media:
Applesauce Books Publishing Website
Applesauce Books Publishing Facebook
Listen on My Creative Life!
I decided to have Reema come back and speak on my podcast to hear how things are going as a teacher during Covid. She was kind enough to share her teaching expertise. Here is a bit about Reema.Reema Zoumut, “Ms. Z “, an enthusiastic artist and 32 year instructor(10 yrs in private sch., 22 yrs. in public school, and 7 yrs with the City of Corona- on Saturday Mornings) … who is excited about all the tools to creating art and helping students understand their own conceptual thinking & artistic potential.Check out her work at:Her School Website.Reema’s Zoumut IGBolsa Grande_Animation IG
Listen to the interview on My Creative Life.
I have used Teespring with my students to create their tshirt designs in graphic design class. I did not have access to screenprinting in my classroom. With virtual learning for many teachers this might be an option to include so students can purchase their designs and have it shipped to them. I find that as a graphic designer it is a good idea to vet the vendors you use.
Some things to consider with POD (Print on demand).
QUALITY
I never had time in the past to order a tshirt from Teespring before. I wanted to check their quality. The shirt was a black tshirt. I have a link for the Youtube video. There were stray marks of the white ink on the sleeve. I was concerned initially in my review. Once I washed it the white ink washed away. It was a bummer when I first took it out of the bag. I ordered the premium black shirt unisex. The ink on my logo design held up from the first and a second wash.
TURN AROUND TIME
How long did it take to get my order? 3 weeks. If you are ok with that then that is fine. If it is for your students that will be ok. If you have a student that wants to start it as a side business they should be aware of this. Then they understand if they get a customer complaint about the turn around time.
TEESPRING USER INTERFACE
The interface of Teespring is pretty simple to use. They have an option to buy for yourself or make products for sale. I was attracted by the ease of set up and that is why I used it with my students. I would make sure if you have them set up accounts during class space them out. I’m guessing their site wondered why are all these new users coming from 1 IP address. Are they bots?
In the end some of students did order tshirts and they told me they were pretty happy with the results. They do more then shirts I had a student order a phone case with their design.
#teespring #pod #printondemandsites #graphicdesignlesson #messyartteacher
Over the past several years I’ve been doing interviews of creatives about their art journey. It’s been a great learning experience and I’ve found out some great tips and resources. Season 5 is starting this Jan. 3, 2021 with Jamie Zollars, children’s book writher and illustrator.
Listen to the past interviews at My Creative Life Podcast. I have over 50 interviews.
I created this video because when I went to the art supply store I got so overwhelmed at the different types of handles and nibs that are offered for dip pens. This covers the basics of which nib fits with which handle. How to care for the nibs. I store my nibs and handle in an old plastic battery case from Radio Shack. It fits perfectly and it was free. Then I did a speed inking of a drawing of some characters. I purchased mine from Dick Blick.
My students even in elementary school loved using dip pens. I used to teach them calligraphy starting in 3rd grade after cursive was removed the curriculum. I told them you should be able to make your name distinctive like John Hancock. It leaves an impression. We talked briefly about how it was used in the past and tie it into social studies.
To purchase your own nibs and handles. This is the basic set I purchased in college. https://www.dickblick.com/products/speedball-c-style-calligraphy-set/
Amazon Affiliate: https://amzn.to/3fOTp7W
Here is the other handle Crow Quill for fine lines: https://www.dickblick.com/products/speedball-crow-quill-dip-pen-nibs/
Amazon Affiliate: https://amzn.to/2JtR4TR
Took some time to play around with Yupo paper and acrylic inks. Yupo is a plastic paper that was originally created to use for shampoo bottles. It’s a great product to get some amazing textures using acrylic ink and some different agents with it. I tried using some of the different types and created a swatch sheet that shows the results. If you want to download a JPG you can get it from my blog.
To purchase the paper they sell it on Dick Blick: https://www.dickblick.com/products/legion-yupo-watercolor-paper/
Also in pads that is more cost-effective, but smaller sizes https://www.dickblick.com/products/legion-yupo-watercolor-paper-pads/
I’ve also purchased it from your local big box craft or office supply store if you venture out of your home. Amazon Yupo paper: https://amzn.to/36jTs8O
I posted this Freebie on my TPT store for the holidays. If you are an elementary teacher and want your students to draw and tell a story this worksheet provides them with lines and a start of their drawing of Santa. Santa Story Worksheet.
PDF file is ready to use! Happy Holidays! Thanks for all of the support through the year!
Sincerely,
Messy Art Teacher
I just found a site that allows you to generate free Favicons for your website. If you aren’t sure what that is, it is the little icon that shows up in the tab in your browser window. It’s a mini logo for your website.
Here is a link to it. https://freefavicon.com/
Make sure you read so you don’t end up click on an ad.
I’m on wordpress and noticed they updated somethings here. Hmm. Ok so I made a pop-up card and this was fun! I used to do pop-up cards with my elementary art students. I wished I had done this with my graphic students. This could be a great lesson for illustration, elementary art. With elementary grades you have to do templates. It’s really easy, and I made them from cardstock. If you have volume of kids that is the way I would do it. I had a limit to the copies I could print in elementary. It just depends on your situation. It’s challenging and you get to cut stuff up. Here’s a video on the process I came up with after doing research on pop-up book artists.
Here’s videos from Matthew Reinharts Youtube Channel. Can I say he is amazing at pop-ups. So complex and fun! He’s channel has really easily used templates and shorter videos for the young ones. If you are an art teacher or you have kids at home these are great to do.
Mrs. Miller - Messy Art Teacher Blog 